Long weekends are made for BBQ’s, delicious food, and celebrations with family & friends. This colourful roast vegetable salad is nutritious and full of flavour. Accompanied with a creamy tahini dressing, it’s guaranteed to satisfy those taste buds. In this recipe the oven does most of the work for you, (you’ll need a few roasting trays).

Ingredients:
4-5 organic beetroots (peel & slice into bite-size pieces)
3-4 organic sweet potatoes (scrub clean, leave the skin on & slice into bite-size pieces)
5 carrots (peeled & sliced lengthways)
Large bunch of fresh green long stem beans (edges trimmed)
2 avocados
4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup of fresh mint & parsley (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons of organic honey
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Dressing:
1/3 cup organic tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
Filtered water

Preheat your oven to 200c / fan 180 / Gas 6.

Tray 1: Place the sliced beetroot into a deep baking dish with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, a few tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Tray 2: Sweet potato with olive oil and pinches of salt & pepper.
Tray 3: Place the sliced carrots and drizzle over the honey and olive oil with a sprinkle of salt & pepper.

1. Place all 3 trays into the oven for approximately 45 minutes or until tender and golden (test with fork). The beetroot will take a little longer to cook through than the others.
2. Towards the end, make room on one of the trays for the pumpkin seeds and roast them for 10 minutes.
3. Whilst your vegetables are baking, make your tahini dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients and whisking well to form a creamy texture. Make sure you use cold water to prevent it from going lumpy. Add more water, lemon or maple syrup/honey to taste. Set aside for later.
4. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for a few minutes then transfer to cold water. Slice into bite size pieces.
5. When your roasted vegetables are ready, combine all ingredients into a large serving bowl/platter with the sliced avocados.
6. Garnish with parsley, mint, and roasted pumpkin seeds.
7. Serve with the creamy tahini dressing on the side.

Enjoy x

Perfect for BBQ’s, the classic potato salad can be made a bunch of different ways. Of all the variations this is my favourite, it hits all the flavour and texture spots and the kids love it too!

Ingredients can be easily swapped around – if you are vegan, opt for vegan ingredients, take out the bacon and eggs, and add things like red onion, pickles and caramelised leeks for more flavour.

Ingredients:
750g baby organic potatoes (sweet and full of flavour)
2 organic eggs
3 organic celery stalks
2 bacon rashers
1/2 cup of fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley & chives)
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
Optional: 1/2 red onion finely chopped (soak the onion in water for 15 minutes prior, to make sure it doesn’t overpower the salad)

Dressing:
1/3 cup of organic fresh sour cream
1 tablespoon of yellow mustard
1/4 cup of light mayonnaise
Salt & pepper

Method:
1. Scrub clean the potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces (half or quarter depending on size) and cook in a saucepan of boiled water with a few pinches of salt for approximately 25 minutes.
Whilst the potatoes are cooking:
2. Fry the bacon rashers in a pan until cooked through then take them out of the frypan and cut into small pieces.
3. Hard boil 2 eggs in a saucepan for approximately 10 minutes, place into a bowl of cool water and peel the shells. Slice the boiled eggs and set them aside.
4. Slice the celery stalks into small pieces.
5. When your potatoes are cooked (check with a fork), drain and place them into a large bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking, then slowly peel the skin off the potatoes (or keep them on if that’s what you prefer). Drizzle the apple cider vinegar over the potatoes.
6. Add the potatoes, bacon pieces, celery and eggs into a serving bowl or platter and slowly stir through the dressing and herbs.
Serve warm, or if you are making this ahead of time, make a double batch of dressing as you may need to add a little more before serving.

A drizzle of lemon gives a lovely zesty finish to this dish too, if that’s what you like. 🍋

Here are some healthy drink swaps you can try throughout your day.

➪ Fizzy drinks are high in artificial colours and flavours which contribute to high blood pressure, tooth decay and other various health problems. Try swapping these for sparkling water with your favourite fruit sliced and squeezed into it, or try kombucha which is an excellent source of probiotics, and much healthier on your gut.

➪ Most bottled juices contain as much sugar and artificial ingredients as fizzy drinks. Check the label for ingredients and opt for freshly-squeezed or cold-pressed juice, without the added sugars or artificial flavours. The healthiest swap I would recommend is to enjoy a piece of fruit, this provides you with natural vitamins and minerals and will keep you satisfied for longer. 

➪ Energy drinks are extremely high in artificial sugars, flavours, and caffeine. If you have these regularly, try swapping them for coffee and keep it to approximately 2 cups a day. Coffee has far more health benefits and will give you the caffeine hit if that’s what you need. 

➪ Black tea and coffee contain many health benefits (I love my morning coffee), however, drinking excessive amounts every day may cause health problems associated with the caffeine side-effects. Enjoy 2 cups a day and try swapping the rest for herbal teas which are full of antioxidants and vitamins. 

➪ Dairy milk consumption has rapidly declined in recent years for various reasons. Plant-based milk is more environmentally friendly, they are free from hormones and antibiotics, and most of them contain the same amount of vitamins and minerals (including calcium) as dairy milk. If you’re curious about swapping, read the labels, and taste-test each one – there’s plenty to choose from including, oat, cashew, almond, soy, rice, quinoa, and coconut. Oat, almond, and coconut are the top favourites in our home.

And finally, the purest drink of them all is plain, filtered water. A minimum of 2 litres a day will provide you with so many health benefits, and it’s free too!

Can you think of anymore healthy drink swaps? 

Aimee x